Gen13 Mystic Training: Burnout
by Joshua The Evil Guy
Summary: Side Story to Gen13: Mystics. After discovering they each have magic, Harry Potter set about getting special training for each of his teammates. This is the story of Robert Lane's, aka Burnout, training as a pyromancer.


Title: Gen13 Mystic Training: Burnout

Author: Joshua "The Evil Guy"

Rating: M (Due to Language, Violence, Brief Nudity, Adult Content)

Disclaimer: Gen13 and all associated characters and events were created by Jim Lee and J. Scott Campbell, and the original comics/events this story covers distributed by Image Comics, though are now owned by DC Comics. There will be brief mentions of Harry Potter, but he doesn't show up in this story. Other crossovers, mostly from concepts and magic powers will be mentioned. Niklaren "Niko" Goldeye belongs to Tamora Pierce, drawn from her "Circle of Magic" series. I don't own any of it and I'm not making any money from all this, so don't bother suing me. No spoilers in this one, just character development and a bit of rewriting.

Summary: Side Story to Gen13: Mystics. After discovering they each have magic, Harry Potter set about getting special training for each of his teammates. This is the story of Robert Lane's, aka Burnout, training as a pyromancer.

 _Burnout_

Bobby "Burnout" Lane was a GenActive. He was the offspring of one of the Gen12 test subjects and had inherited the potential to activate the Gen-Factor, a mysterious substance that grants superhuman abilities. Along with several others, he had been taken by IO and placed in the Compound to participate in the latest generation of Project Genesis; Gen13.

Once fully manifested, he discovered that he could generate, control, and manipulate plasma, which when exposed to air, ignited into flames, giving him what is popularly known as the human torch phenomenon. Of course the codename itself is already taken, so he went with what he'd most often been called in school; Burnout.

He and his team escaped the Compound and spent a couple months on the run, during which, their group-appointed Team Leader, discovered that every single one of them, in addition to having the Gen-Factor, also had a magical ability or skill. It was another month or two before their intrepid leader had managed to find someone to help narrow it down beyond "having magic", but he did. He brought him to their safe house, introduced the man as a powerful mage, and each of them spoke with him in turn.

And then once they all knew what they could do, their leader, which was a decision Bobby was really starting to regret, sent them off to various places around the world to "learn how to use" their mystical skills and abilities, on top of maintaining control of their Gen-Factor powers. For Bobby, the conversation, testing, and eventual training was... unique compared to the others.

 _Lynch Villa_

 _Sunnydale, CA_

 _April 1999_

Bobby lead the way down the steps and onto the beach, but paced himself so the Sight Mage could keep up with the enthusiastic youth. They walked along the beach, nearer the dunes at the top rather than down by the water. It made walking a bit more of a chore, but they both had the foresight of wearing appropriate footwear.

"So," Bobby was the first to speak, both eager and impatient to have his mystic talents revealed to him, especially after Grunge and Sarah were revealed to have such... interesting powers available to them. "How exactly does this work? I mean, I know that you got that sight or seeing magic thing going for you, but how am I supposed to _learn_ magic when _I_ can't see it? For that matter, what _can_ I do anyway?"

"You can make fire," Niko answered with a patient smile.

"Well, yeah, no duh!" Bobby remarked, sparking a brief flicker of flame with a snap of his fingers, using his Gen Factor to do so.

"No, you misunderstand, Mr. Lane," Niko shook his head. "Magic. You can _magically_ make fire. I believe the standard title is something like, Firestarter, or perhaps maybe, _Pyromancer_?"

Bobby tripped in the sand, but managed to catch himself before falling. "Wait, are you serious?!" he choked, suddenly very excited. "My _magic powers_ are practically the same as my Gen Factor powers?!"

Niko shrugged. "If that is what you want to call it, yes. Quite frankly, in recent years, after the revelation of mutants, the Inhuman race, and the numerous and various Metahumans popping up, whether they received their powers via science accident, or some form of unnatural evolution, people with superhuman abilities have become somewhat common to me. I have no interest in 'outing' you and your friends, Mr. Lane, much as I assured Harry and Ms. Rainmaker. I am merely here to offer my expertise in providing you all with the knowledge and requisite training of your individual mystic talents. I can assure you, how you got them, nor what you call them, are of any concern of mine."

"Well," Bobby ducked his head, "that is actually a relief to know, Mr. Goldeye." At the older mage's look, he hastily corrected himself, "Niko."

"As for how I know what you are, to be quite honest it is most obvious," Niko explained. "I can see magic all the time, and am likewise aware of its presence. Over the years, and through both training and experience, I am able to deduce what different types of magic 'look' and 'feel' like. As with most everyone in your group, I have encountered at least one other out in the world with a similar, if not identical aura about them. You are actually the fifth pyromancer that I have met."

"Really? Awesome," Bobby grinned enthusiastically.

They reached the part of the beach that met with a rock outcropping, leading toward the nearby cliff face, which tended to be a natural deposit of the ocean's refuse. There was a large pile of driftwood gathered there. The beach continued on for another two hundred yards or so, but it became progressively more rocky and less hospitable. As such, there were no beach-goers nearby. Niko stopped there, by the huge pile of driftwood, bringing Bobby to a stop beside him.

"So, how does this work?" the blond wanted to know. "Knowing that I have fire magic is great and all, but... how can I tell the difference between _that_ and my normal powers?"

"There are several ways of detecting or using magic," Niko replied. "But you are correct, there is no way we can be certain that you aren't just fooling yourself into using your other powers. Which is why Harry gave me this," he held up the circular device the speedster had handed him right before they'd left the Villa.

"What is it?" Bobby asked, taking it from the mage and looking it over in his hands.

"Harry called it a power inhibitor," he answered. "The short and sweet of it is that your _other_ fire making powers will be completely suppressed, leaving you only with your pyromancy magic to call upon. He explained this to me before our meeting, and it is harmless. Merely put it on your chest and press this button to activate it, and then that button to deactivate it."

"Seems kind of... simple, for something that is supposed to take away super powers," Bobby said, putting the device into place, just above his sternum.

"I didn't ask about the history of such devices, merely received instruction about how to use it when it was suggested that some of you might have similar, if not identical magic effects to your other powers," Niko said. "Although I would imagine it normally would be put somewhere hard to reach, or attached to a restraining device. In any case, you have complete control over it, so there is no danger of your powers being taken away permanently or anything like that. Now, whenever you're ready, I'll walk you through finding your magic."

"It's that simple?" he exclaimed, activating the inhibitor.

"Not hardly," the mage answered, as the device came to life, straps shooting out to keep it in place as it took effect. "I'm just that good at what I do. For right now though, lets make sure that the inhibitor is doing its job. Try to use your powers, the same way you normally would. It is why I took us all the way out here. This way you can set all this on fire and no one will be harmed."

"Hm, good point," Bobby acknowledged, already feeling the familiar 'drain'. At least this time he wasn't submerged in a slim tube filled with a fire-resistant fluid.

Raising his hands, he triggered his powers to just ignite a couple small flames in his palms. Or at least, he tried to. Seeing nothing happening, he 'tried' harder, to no effect, although he could... feel something. He then pointed his palms out toward the driftwood and pushed everything he had into shooting out a couple of flame-thrower level blasts. There was a brief burst, or flare from his palms, similar to what you'd see on a Youtube video of illusionists using Flash Paper. The inhibitor made a beeping noise and then it sort of 'revved up', or at least that is what it felt like. Next, he tried to ignite his whole body in flames, maybe even take off flying. There was another brief flare-up, but it wasn't even close to the same level as the first one, and it died out just as quickly. A few seconds later, the 'revving' quieted down to a steady level, and Bobby was certain; he was no longer able to generate any plasma, from _any_ part of his body.

"I think it is working now," Bobby said, nodding to Niko. "So... how does this work exactly?"

"First, before you try doing any ' _magic_ '," Niko said, even making air-quotes with his fingers, "You have to be able to control it. And you do that through meditation and focus. It is rather fortunate that we're near the beach for this. Come, sit, I will guide you through a simple meditative exercise. Once you have the basics, then we can actually try something."

"I thought you told us that this all wouldn't take long," Bobby complained as he sat down on a dry enough stump of wood, Niko taking a seat across from him. "No more than an hour or so?"

"I expect that this will be simpler for you than what you'd expect," the older mage said, bemused. "This isn't about the meditation of self discovery, or anything like that. It is about focusing your energies and then containing those energy, so that you can better channel them. Now then, I want you to close your eyes and just listen. Please?"

Taking a single deep breath and letting out a huge sigh, Bobby complied, closing his eyes and listened to the waves crash against the shore, seeing as it was the loudest sound around.

After a few cycles, his breathing fell in time with the ebb and flow of the water, inhaling as the wave impacted, holding until it began to pass, and slowly exhaling as it receded. As he did, his focus increased, and without losing time with his breathing, he opened his eyes and tried to make a flame.

At first, he tried doing it the same way he'd been using his other powers, but that did nothing at all. After a few false-starts, he realized that wasn't what he needed to be focusing on, and instead just tried picturing a flame in his mind and focusing on a piece of wood in front of him. He was so focused, in fact, that he barely even noticed when the wood began to smoke and blacken, although it was by no means aflame.

Niko had guided him this far, but once he noticed the magic within young Bobby start to go from a burning wildfire into a more controlled flame, he sat back and silently observed as he began sending out magic toward the soaked driftwood pile. The two continued to sit in silence as the spot Bobby stared at smoked and blackened, yet refused to catch flame.

After maybe five minutes of this, Niko had to put a stop to it as the pyromancer was merely exhausting himself. "You are on the right track, Robert. Unfortunately, your plasma powers have somewhat corrupted your thinking, from what I have observed. Do not think of controlling or unleashing the flame itself. Instead... look to your magic as a match. A more mundane approach, I know, but it works. Humans, for decades now, have used matches to start fires. There are other ways, but given our society, if one sees a match, they know it can be used to start a fire. So, rather than picturing the flame, picture a lit match, and set it upon the wood."

Bobby nodded, took another deep breath, closed his eyes, and a few moments later opened them again as he exerted his magic.

Niko saw this and nodded silently, keeping quiet so as to allow Bobby to keep his concentration. After about a minute more, the mage noted that nothing was smoking or smoldering anymore, but it was getting hotter. Hotter than a lack of breeze and steady sunlight could account for. Frowning now, Niko turned his sight upon Bobby's target, trying to discern what the pyromancer was attempting. A great deal of power had gathered at the center of the pile, like a fire in the center of underbrush, not yet releasing its flames or even its smoke.

"Robert..." Niko reached out and grabbed the blond man by the shoulder.

"Huh?" Bobby gasped, losing his concentration, and his control over the fire he was trying to start. As a result, all of the power he'd concentrated into the driftwood was unleashed all at once.

Flame ignited and consumed the woodpile in an instant!

Both men were knocked back from the pressure of hot air rapidly expanding outward, but fortunately the fiery explosion was channeled only toward the driftwood, so while the flames no doubt looked mightily impressive, and reached rather high into the sky, it was nothing like setting off a bomb or anything like that. Looking up at the merrily crackling bonfire from their prone positions in the sand, both magic users were more than impressed. Niko in the fact that his young protege had used his power to such a degree, and Bobby due to the fact that he'd done it at all, and without using his Gen-Factor either!

"That was awesome!" Bobby cackled with glee.

"Yes," Niko chuckled lightly, "It was indeed... _awesome_. Shall we head back now?"

 _Continued..._


End file.
